Competing

Chapter 329 The Right Candidate

Yin Xu looked at Xu Jian and asked, "Master Xu, how do you want the widow to deal with your Xu family?"

When asked directly, Xu Jian was speechless, not knowing how to answer.How to deal with Yin Xu must already have an idea, so it is completely futile to say anything else at this time, it depends on Yin Xu's decision.With the whereabouts of the Zhou family's granary, the Xu family can be regarded as guilty and meritorious. Yin Xu should be more accommodating on this point.

Xu Jian bowed and said in a low voice: "But let the king deal with it!" This may be the only answer, and it may also be the best answer.When the voice fell to the ground, Xu Jian's body moved slightly, and he slowly lowered his head and closed his eyes, waiting for the answer to the cycle of life and death.

Yin Xu pondered for a moment and finally spoke. It was only a moment, but Xu Jian felt that it seemed as long as several lifetimes. Waiting for the verdict of life and death was a kind of mental torment.Fortunately, Yin Xu didn't make him wait too long.

Yin Xu said: "Your Xu family's participation in the assassination of the widow was originally a heinous crime of ransacking the family and exterminating the family. But it seems that you were deceived by the Zhou family and came to expose it in time. Let me forgive you first. But the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot escape. "

Xu Jian's heart was shocked. Perhaps it was the best result. At least he saved his life. This can be said to be a blessing in misfortune.I just don't know what this living crime will be like?Could it be that Yin Xu wants us to be born differently?Before the final result was confirmed, Xu Jian's heart was hanging in the air, and he was very uncomfortable.

Yin Xu continued: "The widow opened a horse farm near Peng Lize, so you go there to raise horses for the widow! The widow also plans to build a shipyard in Fanyi. I think the Xu family should have expertise in this area."

Hearing this, Xu Jian breathed a sigh of relief, but his mood was very complicated, and he didn't know how to express it.His life was saved, but he went to Peng Lize to raise horses and build boats... The Xu family used to be a rich and powerful family, and all the family members were pampered and raised as habits, so they didn't know the author's rough work.

But that's pretty good, at least they didn't kill them directly, or denigrate them into exile, or something else.It's hard work, especially shipbuilding is still the Xu family's strong point, so I should be able to adapt to it.The only fly in the ointment is that he failed to achieve the set goal, scattered all the wealth of the family, and kept safe and sound.

In fact, Peng Lize seems to be a slave when he raises horses and builds ships, which is a difficult fact for the Xu family.When will it be a head again?Xu Jian couldn't help but worry about this.

Yin Xu seemed to see his worry, and said directly: "I can guess what you are thinking, I will tell Su Jiao that raising horses and building boats in Peng Lize is labor, and no one will bully you. As for when will it end? Let's wait until the day when the widow will win the world in his mood!"

Win the world?Xu Jian's heart thumped, and he was beyond shocked. It turned out that Yue Wang Yinxu's ambition was to win the world?This... this... In his eyes, the country of Yue is just a small border country in the east of the river, and it doesn't have the strength to compete for hegemony at all.Moreover, today the princes of the world stand side by side, and there are many princes stronger than the Yue Kingdom. The most powerful is the Western Chu Kingdom in the north.If these words came from Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, it would not be surprising at all.It is inevitable that people will be shocked when it is said from the mouth of Yue Wang Yinxu.

When there was a huge wave in his heart, worries also appeared. Yin Xu said that after he seized the world, he would let them go.But when will he succeed?Or is it possible for him to succeed?If he loses, he will never be able to achieve his goal. Could it be that the lives of himself, his clansmen, and his descendants will all be wasted by the shore of Penglize Lake?Such a heavy worry made it difficult for Xu Jian to breathe.But he never dared to say these words. Yin Xu has expressed his ambition. If he thinks he can't do it, he has underestimated King Yue.Maybe if you change your mind, you will be threatened with a knife and an axe, so it is not bad to do this step.

At this moment, he heard the king of Yue express his ambition, that is to say, knowing other people's secrets, it is considered good not to kill people and silence them.Therefore, Xu Jian no longer had too many extravagant demands, and what he hoped most at present was to save his life.For these businessmen, the principle of keeping green hills is not afraid of running out of firewood is strictly practiced.

In front of outsiders, Yin Xu uttered bold words about taking over the world, which made several important officials very excited, especially Chen Ping.To be honest, he just came to Jiangdong and he was still a little worried. Yin Xu did express such meaning in Guanzhong before, but at that time, people will change, and their ambitions and ideas will also change accordingly.

This is especially true after changing the environment. Now that Yin Xu has come to Jiangdong and became the king of Yue, he can be regarded as calling the wind and rain on one side and aloof.If Yin Xu is safe with a small fortune and loses his fighting spirit and lofty ambitions, it will be troublesome.

But now, Yin Xu said truthfully that his ambition has never changed, and he is still competing in the world and winning the Central Plains.And he said it in front of an irrelevant outsider, and he didn't worry at all if he failed or was questioned and ridiculed. This shows how strong Yin Xu's confidence is.With this as a foundation, success is one step closer.

Chen Ping was very relieved, knowing that his choice was not wrong, and that he could do a great cause with this great king.For this great strategist, he can finally give full play to his talents and strategies, and realize his ambitions.Mr. Zhong Yin also felt this way. He was really happy that Yin Xu had come to this point, which showed that the choices made by the old men were not wrong.I really hope that Yin Xu can succeed, seize the world, and kill those dogs to avenge Ziying and Qin.At the same time, build a powerful unified empire, just like His Majesty the First Emperor, proudly proud of the world!
Several courtiers of the Yue Kingdom were also full of enthusiasm and eager to try, thinking of making contributions to the great ambitions of the King of Yue, making great contributions, and becoming a generation of famous officials who founded the country.No one would have thought that on such an occasion, Yin Xu's unintentional utterance would have such a big response, it was absolutely unexpected.

However, the moods of the people in the hall were different. Yin Xu and several important ministers were very excited, while Xu Jian was trembling and terrified. It was like ice and fire.Looking at King Yue's calm and confident face, and the smiles on the corners of the mouths of several important ministers, with satisfied and gratified expressions on their faces, Xu Jian felt extremely uncomfortable.But he didn't dare to have the slightest complaint, so he knelt down on the ground in pain.

After a long time, Yin Xu saw this and said: "If you want your Xu family to be released sooner, it's very simple, that is to help the widow work hard. As long as you behave well, maybe the widow will release you in advance as soon as you are happy."

Xu Jiancheng said fearfully: "I would like to obey your majesty's edict!" At this time, he could only obey, so naturally he dared not complain at all.

Yin Xu asked again: "Your Xu family's shipping industry is the best in Jiangdong. According to your opinion, your family is willing to dedicate all the family property to the widow, which means that these ships also belong to the widow now?"

Xu Jian nodded and said, "That's natural, everything in the Xu family belongs to the king now!"

Yin Xu just smiled and said: "Okay, then tell me, how many ships does your Xu family have now? Where are they sailing? Tell me all about the advantages."

Xu Jian bowed and said: "Yes, the Xu family now has a total of [-] large and small ships, among which [-] can carry cargo of a thousand shi, more than [-] ships of more than [-] shi, and more than [-] shi. There are more than a hundred ships, and there are many others, large or small. The main horizontal line is the Zhejiang area in the east of the Jiangxi, Kuaiji Zhenze, and then northward, either along the river to Linjiang. In fact, the longest boat on the river can be It reaches Bashu area, but there are many rapids and dangerous shoals on the upper reaches, which are very dangerous, and it is difficult for large ships to pass.

In addition, the connection between the lower reaches and Bashu is not close, so it will not be easy to sail.Instead, they will follow the popular boats along the Mian River (Han River) and the Xiang River either to the south or north.In the south you can go to the Dongting area, in the north you can reach the upper reaches of the Mianshui River, in the middle is the Nan/Yang area, close to the Han, Wei, Yin, and Western Chu countries in the Central Plains, and further up you can reach the territory of Liu Bang, the king of Han!It's just that there are not many people going upstream, the boats of my Xu family know how to swim in the Mian River at most. "

As a traveler of later generations, Yin Xu naturally knew about the distribution of water systems. There are many rapids and dangerous shoals in the upper reaches of the river, and the area connecting Bashu is naturally the Three Gorges of later generations.In this era, the river course has not been rehabilitated, and there is a lack of navigation experience and understanding of the water regime, so it is naturally very dangerous.

But the best advantage is that the soil and water have not been damaged in this era, the climate is mild, and the water in each river is abundant.Therefore, many rivers that are not convenient for navigation in later generations can also be sailed.After all, it is possible to go north along the Mian River from Linjiang State, and directly threaten the Central Plains from the middle reaches of the river. This is undoubtedly a convenient channel.This is probably the importance of the Jingxiang area becoming a battleground for military strategists in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

What is even more surprising is that the ship can also go directly north along the Mianshui River to Liu Bang's Han Kingdom.This is definitely not a small surprise, but the lack of hydrological information, it is estimated that navigation is also a difficult task.I think this section of the river was rarely used in this era, otherwise the difficulty of the Shu Road might be alleviated a little.

Moreover, leaving Bashu in this way does not have much strategic advantage and significance, which is why Liu Bang chose to leave Bashu from Guanzhong.This is the strategic significance of Mingxiu's plank road to cross Chen Cang secretly. Now Tian Rong has raised his troops to fight Xiang Yu.So what about Liu Bang?I don't know what happened to Han Xin?Have you reached Bashu?Got Liu Bang's attention?Will they be behind and send troops to the north?
Yin Xu can't control so much now, he is more interested in the Xu family's shipping industry, and asked: "What about the shipping line in the north of the river? What's the situation?"

Xu Jian didn't dare to hesitate, and hastily replied: "Back then, Fu Chai, the king of Wu, dug Hangou, so that he could go northward from the big river to Huai River. There are many rivers in the north of Huai River, such as Sishui, Jialu River, etc., so in terms of water transportation The farthest can reach the big rivers in the north, and the former capital of the Wei State was connected by a gap between the beams, so small boats can naturally reach it. Maybe there are some rivers connected to the Jishui, and it may be able to reach Linzi in the Qi State.”

Yin Xu knows that in this era, the ecology is well maintained, and the river system is also very developed.In the case of inconvenient transportation, water transportation is undoubtedly the most time-saving, labor-saving, convenient and feasible method.If this is the case, then it can be put to good use in the future.

Xu Jian continued: "Your Majesty, our Xu family does not have much business in the north because we are located in Shanyin in the east of the Yangtze River. Our routes mainly reach Xu/Yi on the banks of the Huai River, as well as the nearby banks of the Huai River, such as Huaiyin, etc. There is no land, no matter how far away. There are also Hangou, which have been dug for many years, and some of the rivers have begun to silt up, and there are slight obstacles to boating. Small boats are fine, but if it is a big boat, it needs to be dredged."

Yin Xu is already very satisfied with such a result, and dredging the river is inevitable.With these boats from the Xu family, there will be more in the future if I want to transport food and supplies northward, and I can completely rely on these boats and routes.It will be much more convenient to transport troops. At the same time, Yin Xu is already thinking about building a naval force. The Yue Kingdom is located in the south. Whether it is considering the Linjiang Kingdom and Hengshan Kingdom that are also in the south, or the possible relationship with the West Chu Kingdom in the future. In the Zhenze River Basin in Beikuaiji County, or in the Huainan area, the navy seems to be in great need.

Nowadays, all the vassal states mainly rely on infantry for land warfare, and the development of the navy is almost zero, so it is still necessary to develop in a timely manner.Especially in the Jiangdong area in the south, due to the terrain, the cavalry may play a very limited role.So before that, it's better to develop the navy well, so as to make up for the deficiencies and avoid weaknesses.

Now that the conditions are fully met, they can use the Xu family's technology to build a ship for themselves, and this time they are not going to build an ordinary cargo ship.Nowadays, what Yue State needs are warships. There is abundant timber on the banks of Peng Li Ze, and those calm and wide lakes are also a rare naval training base.The soldiers are also easier to handle. Most of the [-] troops brought back from Guanzhong are from the north, and their water skills are poor.

However, after Gao Yi and his family arrived, all the recruits were locals from the Yue country. There are many rivers and lakes here, and the soldiers' water skills are also very good.Now it is possible to take advantage of the director, and the northern soldiers train cavalry and archery, and build a cavalry army based on this.Based on Jiangdong soldiers, participate in water training and build a powerful navy.

In this way, the Vietnamese army is equivalent to having two arms, which can be used naturally, and its combat effectiveness will be greatly improved.This is what Yin Xu hopes to see very much. As soon as the battle against Dongou and Minyue is over, these plans will be implemented immediately.

Now Yin Xu is still interested in another matter, and asked in a deep voice: "Xu Jian, does your family have shipping companies in various places in Jiangdong, or have a base or something?"

stronghold?Xu Jian didn't understand Yin Xu's meaning for a while, and he realized after a little contemplation. He nodded immediately and said, "Yes, the Xu family has arranged manpower for every city dock in Jiangdong and Huaisi..."

Yin Xu suddenly smiled, this is what he wants, he has always wanted to develop the intelligence system.However, it is not so easy to establish strongholds in various cities quickly. If there are ready-made ones, they can be used very well.These shipping companies of the Xu family are undoubtedly good choices. Their current business is mainly in various parts of Jiangdong, so they can rely on them to build an intelligence network for so long.

Although the region is limited, it may not be able to meet your own needs, but it is better than nothing.As for Guanzhong and Pengcheng in the distance, we can only think of a solution later. Anyway, the main strategic activity area at present is in the Jiangdong area, which is enough for the time being.It seems that it is still very cost-effective to take down the Xu family in this way. If it is used forcefully, the shipping and outlets of the Xu family may not be in their own hands.

Yin Xu nodded and said: "Very good, Xu Jian, you will stay in Shanyin and hand over the shipping and outlets as soon as possible. Don't play tricks, don't try to delay, or use this as a basis to negotiate conditions with the widow. Otherwise, your relatives in Peng Lize will be very sad. On the contrary, if you do a good job, you can pay off your merits, which is also a good thing for you and your family!"

How dare Xu Jian have other unreasonable thoughts, this is already the best result, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

Yin Xu suddenly remembered something, and asked: "By the way, does your brother Xu Xuan know about your Xu family's shipping and those shipping companies? Answer truthfully?"

Xu Jian shook his head and said: "The family has rules, and the core business is the responsibility of the family. I only know about it because I am the eldest son. As for the second brother, he is only in charge of some small businesses in Shanyin, so he doesn't know about these things. .”

"That's great. I have to tell you some unfortunate news. Your younger brother is very smart, but he is also ruthless. The biggest mistake of your Xu family is to hunt and kill widows. He led all of this, so what? He absolutely Unforgivable, do you have any objection to this?" Yin Xu asked coldly.

After Xu Jian heard it, he felt mixed feelings. After all, Xu Xuan was his own brother. Seeing him die and unable to save him made his heart ache.But when it comes to the big matter of family survival, he is helpless to the extreme, so he can only give up the little to protect the big.It just so happens that Xu Xuan has no news or news. I hope he will never come back. Going further and further away may be the only possibility of survival.After being silent for a long time, Xu Jian could only nod helplessly, accepting such a heavy fact, and at the same time, there was a glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Okay, that's it!" Pu Jun, take him down, and you will be in charge of the handover for the time being. After Xu Jian left, Yin Xu continued: "As for the call of these things, you guys have to go to fight with the widow. Both Mr. Chen Ping and Gao Yi are busy, so I want to find another person to manage it!" "

Chen Ping already guessed Yin Xu's intentions, and asked, "Your Majesty already has a suitable candidate?"

Yin Xu nodded and said: "Yes, but we need to investigate further, and it depends on whether he is willing or not!" While speaking, a gentle and elegant image appeared in his mind!

(End of this chapter)